Public Relations

NWACC awarded grant to study viability of sustainable practices in packaging training

BENTONVILLE (Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008) - NorthWest Arkansas Community College has been awarded a $3,000 grant to research the viability of sustainable practices in packaging training for two-year colleges.

The grant was made by the Council on North Central Two-Year Colleges and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association.

Primary researcher for the project is Dr. Donna Wood, NWACC Associate Vice President for the NWACC Institute for Environmental Sustainability. The institute will be located at the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development, which is under construction on the NWACC campus.

Dr. Wood was dean of the Business and Computer Information Division at NWACC and associate provost for teaching and learning at Lewis University in Illinois.

She has more than 20 years in curriculum development from secondary programs to graduate programs and is an advanced systems appraiser for the Higher Learning Commission Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP).

She serves on the Board of Directors for the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Washington County and is actively involved in the northwest Arkansas community.

Dr. Wood earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and her master’s and doctorate from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in Human Resource Development.

“The review committee found your proposal to be a timely and exciting project,” wrote Dr. James S. Kellerman, Council executive director. “We appreciate the foresight of NWACC in encouraging such interesting research.”

The final product of this project will be the Viability for Sustainable Packaging Training at 2-Year Colleges Executive Report. The research will include an extensive review regarding the area of sustainable packaging, economic forecasts, employment pipeline discussions, and recommendations regarding program viability and curriculum components.

The report will also include current institutions who offer training in this specific area of environmental sustainability and information on these current programs. Industry professionals will be consulted during the data collection and curriculum recommendation portions of the project.

For more information on the project, contact Dr. Donna Wood at 479-4154, or email at dwood2@nwacc.edu

This page was last updated on:  December 21, 2009 @ 8:51 am